Eurozone in fine fettle but China dents sentiment
Evidence that the Eurozone is recovering strongly after years of economic stagnation is piling up. However, investors are on the cautious side in case events in developing economies throw the recovery off track.
Eurozone goods exports to the rest of the world grew strongly in July, reaching €185.2bn (£136.9bn), according to figures released yesterday by Eurostat. As a result, the currency bloc’s trade surplus in goods, the amount its exports over what it imports, hit a record high of €31.4bn.
Trade between Eurozone countries has risen four per cent.
Eurostat also said that the number of people employed in the Eurozone had grown by 0.3 per cent in the three months to June compared with the first three months of the year.
Data published earlier this week shows industrial production had hit a five-year high, while business surveys such as Markit’s purchasing managers’ index also point to a robust economic growth rate.
The Eurozone grew by 0.5 per cent during the first three months of the year, its fastest rate since 2011, and nearly matched it in the three months to June, official numbers show.
However, all the figures are for the periods before the extreme global stock market swings of recent weeks, sparked by a big sell-off in China.
The German ZEW survey of investors from the eponymous research institute dropped steeply yesterday to a score of 12.1 from 25, suggesting they had become much more pessimistic on the Eurozone’s biggest economy.
“The weakening economic development in emerging markets dampens the economic outlook for Germany’s export-oriented economy. While economic growth in the second quarter was largely driven by external demand, it is becoming less likely that exports will stimulate growth in the near future,” said ZEW president Clemens Fuest.